A way to help farmers,
workers and the budget

U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet is a Democrat who represents Colorado in the Senate.

In recent weeks Washington has been consumed by debates on national debt and the budget. Unfortunately, as is typical of Washington, these debates have largely been about completely unrealistic approaches to debt reduction. Ideology and bluster have moved us to the brink of a government shutdown, which, as we recover from the floods, is the last thing Colorado needs now.

If we were really serious about deficit reduction, there is a step we could take right now: The House could pass the Senate’s bipartisan immigration bill. Signing this bill into law would significantly reduce the debt.

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According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the immigration bill the Senate passed would reduce the deficit by as much as $1.2 trillion over the next two decades, while growing our GDP by more than 5 percent.

That’s one of the reasons why 68 Senate Republicans and Democrats voted to pass the bill. Rarely does such a major piece of legislation receive that level of bipartisan support in a Congress mired in partisan gridlock.

The bill would also be a significant boost to Colorado’s economy. It benefits nearly every corner of our state, from fruit growers in Southern Colorado to ski resorts in our mountain towns to high-tech businesses along the Front Range.

In fact, these groups helped inform the immigration bill we wrote in the Senate through their work on the Colorado Compact, which we launched last December. The compact was an effort to bring together voices from the business, law enforcement, agriculture, Latino and faith communities to develop a set of principles that would guide national immigration reform and urge Congress to act.

Just last month, we heard more of these voices first-hand when we traveled through the Eastern Plains, from north to south. On Hanagan Farms in La Junta, for example, we met with producers who explained how the current system for agricultural guest workers is difficult to work with and makes it challenging for them to find the workers they need.

The immigration bill we passed in the Senate helps farmers like these, and our agriculture community as a whole, by replacing the inefficient H2A program with a streamlined program administered by the Department of Agriculture. This new system would provide greater portability for guest workers to move from one agricultural employer to another while providing greater certainty and usability for employers.

Undocumented workers, who comprise an estimated 50 to 70 percent of the agriculture workforce, would have access to an expedited path to citizenship by continuing to work in agriculture.

Our bill also makes other key reforms to our visa system, agreed to by both business and worker groups, which are more aligned to the needs of our 21st century economy. These provisions will help us better retain some of the world’s top talent, while providing a legal avenue for lesser skilled workers in areas such as hospitality to be able to come into the country to fill critical labor needs.

At the same time, it strengthens protections for American workers. Employers will have to advertise and offer jobs to Americans before they can hire guest workers. And the number of visas available is tied to unemployment rates. Plus, when undocumented immigrants come out of the shadows and are paid “over the table,” instead of under, wages will increase.

To improve our border security, the bill commits tens of billions of dollars to double the number of patrol agents, build 700 miles of fencing, and add towers, drones and other technology. It would establish an employment verification system and crack down on employers that knowingly hire undocumented workers.

You’d be hard-pressed to find an immigration bill that provides more security than what we passed in the Senate. Just ask Senators John McCain and Jeff Flake, who wrote and led the negotiations related to the border security provisions in our bill. These two Republicans represent Arizona and know a thing or two about what it’s like to live in a border state.

Finally, the bill provides a tough but fair path to citizenship for those who are undocumented and currently living in the shadows.

In order to qualify, these individuals would have to undergo a background check, pay a fine, and would be ineligible for public benefits, such as welfare.

DREAMERs — those individuals who were brought here as kids and know no other home — would be given a faster path to citizenship.

Working with the so-called “Gang of 8” — four Democrats and four Republicans — to help write this bipartisan bill was a refreshing exercise in how Congress is supposed to work: reaching across the aisle to find middle ground and tackle tough issues.

That type of collaboration is exactly what’s missing from Washington these days, with its incessant partisan bickering and dangerous threats to shut down the government.

If lawmakers were truly worried about our economy, they would start working to pass the immigration bill we passed in the Senate, so that we would have an immigration system that works for American businesses, workers and families.